Cleaning up the Cape

Northwest Trash Bash, Del Prado project this weekend

April 18, 2017

The public can lend a hand this weekend to help make the city a little cleaner for Earth Day.

On Saturday, the Northwest Cape Coral Neighborhood Association and the Southwest Florida Parrot Head Club will hold separate clean-up events. In line with Keep Lee County Beautiful, the 21st annual Northwest Cape Coral Trash Bash will take place from 9 a.m. to noon at the Burnt Store Boat Ramp.

The regional club will kick of a road cleanup along Del Prado Boulevard at 9:30 a.m.

The public is invited to take part in either event in recognition of Earth Day.

"We believe that Cape Coral is a phenomenal place to live and we want to make it better," John Bashaw, the president of the Northwest Cape Coral Neighborhood Association, said.

Organized by the association, the Burnt Store cleanup is one of many planned countywide.

As for the Del Prado cleanup, the Southwest Florida Parrot Head Club adopted the road years ago. For at least a decade, the club has been cleaning up the boulevard from Savona Parkway to Palaco Grande Parkway.

"It's just part of the giving back to the community," Barb Fries, the club's president, said.

Those interested in the Burnt Store cleanup are asked to arrive at 8:30 a.m. Bashaw explained that supplies, like gloves and trash bags, will be handed out and safety instructions will be provided.

"We recommend that you have shoes, not sandals or flip flops," he said.

Long pants are also suggested for areas with high brush.

"There's a lot of trash trapped in vegetation, like grocery bags and things," Bashaw said.

Last year, approximately 100 people participated in the cleanup.

Volunteers will comb for litter on land and by sea.

"We also want to work on cleaning up the waterways," he said.

People with boats, kayaks and canoes are needed to help check the water.

"We do have the equipment they would need for reaching and picking up trash," Bashaw said.

Those interested in the Del Prado cleanup can meet at Dan's Fan City near Savona.

"The more the merrier," Fries said.

The club will have garbage bags, trash grabbers and other supplies on hand.

"Most of the time, we focus on the two sides of the road," she said.

"Maybe one guy will do the median," Fries added.

The cleanup takes about an hour and a half.

"We've had as little as four people, but we've had as many as 10 (participating)," she said.